Red Roses
by IAmKayDubs
Summary: It's been a year since Rin and Nitori started going out, and it's been great. However, Nitori's birthday is coming up and Rin needs a present. It turns out to be a much more daunting process than Rin intended.


Birthdays.

Fun and lighthearted, worthy of celebration. Friends could get together and have fun as a group, celebrating the life of someone close to them.

Simple enough, right?

For most, yes. For Rin? No.

At least not now.

He usually never had any trouble with birthdays or the gift giving associated. He never had problems finding gifts for his friends at Iwatobi.

His current situation, however, was proving to be difficult.

He had been dating Aiichirou for almost a year, and his birthday was coming up. Rin wanted to get him something amazing, something unexpected of him. Something that Ai could have for years and years, even if him and Rin were apart.

Such high standards weren't making the goal any easier to reach.

Rin had already gone to fifteen different stores in the mall, and three different shops in the next town over. He couldn't find anything that suited his idea of the perfect gift for Ai.

The night before Ai's birthday, Rin hurried around the town, chilly air making his sinking mood even worse. What could he possibly get that would show Ai that he loved him?

_'His favorite color... Let's start there. It's blue... Right? No... It may be light green... But he does have an awful lot of purple clothes. I'm so horrible, I can't even remember his favorite color!'_ Rin snarled to himself as he held an internal debate over what should have been an easy answer.

He found one last department store that he hadn't been to, so he took his chances. It was ten minutes from closing, so the place was nearly empty, but he begged the clerk to let him look around. He mostly found racks of clothes, as that made up the majority of the store, but that was useless to him. Ai didn't need any more clothes, at least not to Rin's knowledge.

He made his way over to the section of the store with miscellaneous objects hoping to find something... Anything.

He found nothing. At least nothing that interested him. He had lowered his standards, no longer searching for a miracle gift, he just needed _anything_ that would show his love.

He went to the side of the store that had the groceries and flowers. He didn't want to be as clichéd as buying flowers, but he was honestly running out of options. He saw the basic array of flowers; roses in a few colors, some lilies, some lilac, and some daisies. Nothing was enough, however. How could some simple flowers show Ai that he loved him unconditionally? They wouldn't last more than a week or so, they would wilt away. Rin was at a loss.

Rin felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around to see a woman with a badge labeled 'manager'. She spoke in a gentle voice. "Sir, we really need to close for the night."

Rin nodded, defeated. "Okay, can I buy some flowers first?" His voice still had a pleading tone.

The woman nodded slowly, "yes sir, I'll check you out, which flowers would you like?"

Rin swiveled his head around, trying to make a snap decision. He decided on some vibrant red roses, but he mentally slapped himself for it as he checked them out, noticing that he had failed double on not being clichéd.

He burst out into the cold air with the roses clutched tightly in his hands. He was speed walking towards Samezuka, swearing at himself in his mind and beyond angry with himself.

He stormed through the dorm hallways, fumbling with his door as he reached it. Luckily for Rin, Aiichirou wasn't going to be back until a bit later in the night. He scrambled around the room, the roses laying on Rin's desk.

Rin paced back and forth, muttering angrily to himself as he looked around for something that could inspire an idea for a present. Rin was just about to scream with frustration when he heard a click and the slam of a door. He spun around, his eyes going wide. Ai was standing in the doorway with his head slightly titled. Ai looked worried at Rin's stressed appearance, but all Rin saw on Ai's face was a look of pure innocence.

The two stood in silence for a moment, with Rin too frazzled to speak, and Ai too worried about Rin to properly ask what was wrong.

Rin watched Ai's gentle face for a while, causing him to feel worse about not being able to find anything for him.

Rin sunk down to the floor slowly, landing on his knees and burying his face in his hands with frustration.

Ai, extremely worried at that point, ran over to Rin and crouched down beside him. "Rin? Rin, what's going on?"

Rin glanced up, staring into Ai's widened and almost frightened eyes.

Rin simply reached out and pulled Ai close to him. Ai didn't protest, he just let himself cling closer to Rin, hoping it was helping with whatever Rin was distressing over.

"Rin? Are you okay...? Please tell me you're okay..."

"I'm such a crappy boyfriend, Ai, I'm so sorry."

Ai was shocked. "Crappy boyfriend?! How so? You're amazing, Rin!"

"No, I'm pathetic."

"Why would you say that, Rin?"

"I've been dating you for a year and I couldn't find anything besides some stupid roses for your birthday! I wanted something special, something to show you how much you mean to me..."

Ai's eyes widened even farther. "That's why...?" Ai used his forefinger to push up Rin's face so it was even with his. "Rin, you don't need a gift to show me that. I know that you care. You show me everyday just by being with me."

"Yeah, maybe, but it'll be your birthday. That's not the same as every other day. I wanted something more for you, since you do so much for me."

"Can't you see that I don't need anything else? I have you, and as cheesy as this may sound, that's all I need."

As Rin stared at Ai, his red eyes stayed locked with turquoise. Suddenly, said red eyes brimmed with tears.

"Rin-"

"I love you so much. So, so, so much. Do you understand that, Ai? I care for you more than anything."

"I do, I understand that. I understand that because I feel the same. I love you too, Rin."

Rin let a smile cross his face for the first time that day. He slowly pulled himself up to a standing position, taking Ai along with him. He wrapped large arms around his boyfriend, holding him tightly. The side of Ai's face pressed against Rin's chest, but he didn't mind. In fact, he loved it. Rin placed quite a few kisses on Ai's head, rubbing his hand along Ai's back.

"Hey, Rin?"

"Yes?"

"I happen to think the roses are beautiful. I love them." Ai smiled into Rin's chest.

"I'm glad..." Rin murmured gently. "If they make you happy, I don't mind them at all."

Ai hummed softly. "Oh, and Rin?"

"Yes...?"

"You're the perfect boyfriend. I promise."

Rin simply smiled wider, snuggling his face into the top of Ai's hair. "I love you so freaking much."

* * *

AN: Yes, another Rintori story. I know it's a bit pathetic at this point, but I find them so adorable, and I (surprisingly) find Rin and Nitori to be easier to write than some other characters. (This is the last Rintori for a little bit, besides an epilogue to "Growing Up" and at least a few more chapters to "Seeing Red")

Anyways, I know the ending to this is BEYOND cheesy, but I really enjoy writing scenes like this (Hurt/Comfort-ish, usually with some romance sprinkled in)  
Despite the fluffy/corny ending, I hope you enjoy! 3 (Rate and Review if you please, I love seeing responses to my work!)


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